GSK's marketing strategy for Requip focused on raising awareness of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) as an underdiagnosed neurological disorder. GSK launched an extensive awareness campaign through medical journals, seminars, and websites before Requip was approved to treat RLS. This created a market for RLS and established Requip as the first approved treatment. The campaign was successful, with awareness and diagnoses of RLS increasing significantly and Requip becoming one of GSK's fastest growing brands.
GSK's marketing strategy for Requip focused on raising awareness of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) as an underdiagnosed neurological disorder. GSK launched an extensive awareness campaign through medical journals, seminars, and websites before Requip was approved to treat RLS. This created a market for RLS and established Requip as the first approved treatment. The campaign was successful, with awareness and diagnoses of RLS increasing significantly and Requip becoming one of GSK's fastest growing brands.
GSK's marketing strategy for Requip focused on raising awareness of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) as an underdiagnosed neurological disorder. GSK launched an extensive awareness campaign through medical journals, seminars, and websites before Requip was approved to treat RLS. This created a market for RLS and established Requip as the first approved treatment. The campaign was successful, with awareness and diagnoses of RLS increasing significantly and Requip becoming one of GSK's fastest growing brands.
GSK's marketing strategy for Requip focused on raising awareness of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) as an underdiagnosed neurological disorder. GSK launched an extensive awareness campaign through medical journals, seminars, and websites before Requip was approved to treat RLS. This created a market for RLS and established Requip as the first approved treatment. The campaign was successful, with awareness and diagnoses of RLS increasing significantly and Requip becoming one of GSK's fastest growing brands.
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02.
GLAXOSMITHKLINES MARKETING STRATEGY FOR REQUIP: A CASE
STUDY IN PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT a. Critically analyse GSKs marketing strategy for Requip as a drug to Restless Leg Syndrome. What do you think led to success of the brand? Suggested answer Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest in an effort to relieve these feelings. Some researchers estimated that RLS affected as many as 12 million Americans. However, others estimated a much higher occurrence because RLS is thought to be under diagnosed and, in some cases, misdiagnosed. Some people with RLS would not seek medical attention, believing that they would not be taken seriously, that their symptoms were too mild, or that their condition was not treatable. Some physicians wrongly attributed the symptoms to nervousness, insomnia, stress, arthritis, muscle cramps, or aging. In 2003, GlaxoSmithKline launched a campaign to promote awareness about restless legs syndrome, beginning with press releases about presentations at the American Academy of Neurology meeting describing the early trial results of using Ropinirole for the treatment of restless legs. Two months later, GlaxoSmithKline issued a new press release announcing that restless legs syndrome is keeping Americans awake at night. In 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Requip for the treatment of restless legs syndrome. Since then, the restless legs campaign has developed into a multimillion dollar international effort to push restless legs syndrome into the consciousness of doctors and consumers alike. Marketing strategy GSK began running awareness campaign of RLS between 2003 and 2005. Glaxo began its blitz by advertising the disorder to doctors in medical journals months before the company had regulatory approval to begin selling Requip for RLS. Then, it sent specialists to discuss the disease with general practitioners, who usually see RLS sufferers first. It sponsored seminars and continuing education in desirable locations. The Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation in the U.S. and Ekbom Support Group in UK similarly started promoting the medication and raising awareness. And GSK set up a website, called restlesslegs.com as a resource for people with RLS. It revamped the landing page of www.requip.com to include prescribing information such as educational information about RLS and a checklist of symptoms. GSK also used key opinion leaders (KOLs), such as sleep specialists, to raise awareness about RLS and the scope for Requip among general practitioners (GPs). GSK had created a market for RLS by aggressively marketing the disease through sales force visits to doctors, advertisements in medical magazine, and DTC advertising. GSK believed that sales representatives could play an important role in providing up-to-date information to doctors on the Requip and its benefits to patients. After gaining approval for marketing the drug as a treatment for RLS, the brand experienced strong growth. In the process,
the company achieved an unprecedented growth rate by Requip which it was expected to maintain over a long time. GSK's marketing efforts were widely appreciated by marketing experts, doctors and patient advocacy groups. Experts were particularly impressed by GSK's initial un-branded ad campaigns that strove to increase awareness about the disease. Some doctors and patient advocates praised GSK for raising the profile of a disorder, which they considered under-diagnosed and undertreated. Awareness of the syndrome rose within months of Glaxo's first TV ads. It had about 2,600 visitors a day to its web site before the Glaxo ad campaign. Two months later, about 4,500 people a day were visiting. Even this WSJ article left something important out here. Requip became one of the fastest growing brands in GSKs product portfolio, since its RLS indication approval in May 2005. The Requip campaign delivered results. The number of weekly new prescriptions in the US was four times since launch. The sales of Requip in 2005 were 156 million, a growth of 34% over 2004. The sales of Requip in 2006 were 268 million, a growth of 75% over 2005. Success of the brand GlaxoSmithKline brought out the unique task of generating awareness among Healthcare professionals for Requip, a first-in-market treatment for a new disease category for Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). This campaign captured attention by defining RLS through its hallmark sign, the irresistible urge to move. The first ads were about symptoms and didn't mention Requip, that combats RLS. Instead, Glaxo focused on turning RLS into a household name. But in the process, Glaxo also identified a market and began introducing Americans to a problem many people didn't realize they had, or had never mentioned to their physicians. The Requip campaign's disease-awareness component established the marketplace for the brand, calling attention to RLS and its symptoms in a powerful way and enabling physicians to make a differential diagnosis. The campaign elements delivered on its educational messages providing the solution with a Requip branding element informing doctors they could relieve the urge to move with the first and only FDA approved treatment for moderate to severe RLS. Conclusion As a healthcare community, GSKs marketing initiatives aim was to remain leader of new medicines from cost of treatments, proper diagnosis and knowledge about disease and prospective options with effective and ethical marketing initiatives. GSK focused its energies to make a significant difference for the under-diagnosed, under-treated patient populations. By making RLS a public health issue and concentrating efforts on the communities at greatest risk, the company placed Requip as the market leader in this market.
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